Why does ChatGPT recommend other energy firms when businesses ask?

The finance director of a food manufacturer has a large roof, a larger energy bill and a board asking about net zero. She used to wait for the next cold call or ask a peer. Now she asks ChatGPT which commercial solar installers in the East Midlands have done large rooftop systems on food factories. A facilities manager at a school trust asks Copilot who specialises in heat pump retrofits for older buildings. An operations director asks Google whether to use an energy broker, and which ones can be trusted.

This is now how business buyers work: Forrester found in January 2026 that 94% of business buyers use AI in their buying process, and that they are four times as likely as consumers to use Copilot. Each assistant replies with a handful of names. For the installer, broker, consultancy or EV charging firm that is not on the list, the enquiry never arrives.

Buyers in this market are wary: many have been cold-called too often or sold savings that never appeared. Assistants reflect that caution and favour firms whose claims can be checked. This guide is for the founder or managing director of an energy services business selling to other businesses, and it also covers energy and climate tech software firms.

#What do businesses ask ChatGPT about energy?

The questions describe a site, a job and a worry, usually about cost or trust. Typical examples:

• "Which commercial solar installers in the Midlands have done 500kW rooftop systems?"
• "Heat pump retrofit specialists for schools in older buildings"
• "How are energy brokers paid, and how do I see their commission?"
• "Does ESOS phase 4 apply to my company, and when is the deadline?"
• "Is the Workplace Charging Scheme still open for EV chargers in 2026?"
• "Is [your firm] legitimate?"

Finding questions ask who can do the job. Deciding questions ask whether it is worth doing and what the rules require. Checking questions ask whether a named firm can be trusted, and in energy they come often, usually after a proposal has landed. Most firms only prepare for the first kind.

#What does an AI assistant check before it names an energy firm?

The firm that is easiest to verify usually beats the firm with the boldest claims. "We help businesses slash their energy costs" gives an assistant nothing to confirm. "We have installed rooftop solar on food and drink factories across the East Midlands since 2014; here are six projects with forecast and measured generation" gives it something solid. Our article on what makes ChatGPT treat content as expert rather than marketing explains the difference.

Energy firms often rebrand as they change technologies. If Companies House, your scheme listings, Google and your website describe you differently, an assistant struggles to connect the evidence and may name a competitor.

#Does MCS apply to us?

It depends on system size. MCS's solar standard covers PV systems up to 50kWp, and its heat pump design standard covers units up to 45kWth each, with multiple units up to 70kWth in total (MCS standards, issues dated December 2025 and March 2026). Above those sizes, buyers and assistants look for other evidence: electrical accreditation, trade association membership, ISO certification, insurance and completed projects of a similar size. Say which of your work falls inside MCS and which does not, with your certification number where it applies.

#Case studies that show measured results, not promises

A case study earns trust when it separates what you forecast from what happened. Most stop at "estimated annual saving", the one number buyers have learned to discount.

#Step 1: Describe the site and starting point

Site type, operating hours, annual consumption, roof or land available, existing equipment and the problem the client wanted solved.

#Step 2: Explain what you recommended, and what you advised against

Telling a client a battery would not pay back on their load profile, or that insulation should come before a heat pump, is the judgement buyers and assistants trust.

#Step 3: Say what was installed

System sizes, equipment, programme, how disruption was handled, and any grid connection or planning issues.

#Step 4: Compare forecast with measured results

Show forecast generation or savings beside metered results for a stated period, explain any gap, and say whether savings account for tariff changes.

#Step 5: Let the client speak

A named quote from the finance director or site manager carries more weight than any claim you make.

#How are energy brokers paid, and how can a client see it?

Most brokers are paid commission by the supplier, and Ofgem's rules make that visible. Ofgem says information on broker costs included in the bill must be given to all businesses in the contract's principal terms and on request (Ofgem, October 2022). It also says a broker paid by a supplier must be a member of an approved redress scheme, and points customers to the Energy Ombudsman's broker register to check (Ofgem). Ofgem classes a microbusiness as one with fewer than 10 employees and turnover or a balance sheet of no more than £2 million, or using up to 100,000 kWh of electricity or 293,000 kWh of gas a year.

If you are a broker, be more open than the rules require. Explain whether you take commission in the unit rate, a fixed fee or both, show how a client can see the amount, name your redress scheme and link to its broker register. Publish plain guides to contract terms and renewal dates. When a business owner asks an assistant whether a broker can be trusted, this is the evidence it looks for.

#Which compliance questions do buyers ask first?

Many energy conversations start with an obligation, and the firm that explains it clearly often gets the work. Keep a dated page for each rule you help with, and link to the official guidance.

Rules and deadlines change, so put a "last checked" date on each page. Pages that name the rule and answer inside the first paragraph are the ones assistants lift. When we rebuilt sector pages for ID-Pal, the approach was the same: "Five industry pages rebuilt: fund administration, wealth management, legal, accountancy and estate agency. Each opens with the question a compliance lead types, names the regulator, and answers inside the first ninety words."

Landlords facing the energy standards ask their agents too, which is why our guide for commercial property firms covers them from the landlord's side. Installers share many issues with the trades, set out in our guide to how construction firms get named.

#Energy and climate tech software firms

Software buyers ask different questions: "best carbon accounting software for UK SMEs", "energy management platform for a multi-site retailer". Assistants answer them from review sites, comparison articles and vendor pages, and buyers trust the independent part most. In G2's April 2026 survey of software buyers, 45% said citations of review sites were the most confidence-inspiring signal in an AI answer. Name your category in the buyer's words, gather reviews where your buyers read them, and publish fair comparisons. Our guide for B2B technology companies covers the rest.

#Why your website may be hiding you, and how to tell

Many energy websites are built around a savings calculator and a quote form. Case studies sit in PDFs, accreditations appear only as logos, and calculators load in widgets. The main AI crawlers do not run JavaScript, so key text must be in the page itself. Ask your web provider to confirm AI crawlers are not blocked, since Cloudflare has blocked them by default on new domains since July 2025.

To see whether it is working, keep a fixed list of 20 to 50 buyer questions and run each several times a month in ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Google in a clean session. Answers vary, so count a win only when it repeats.

#What to do this month

1. Rewrite your homepage and main service pages to state your service, sectors, region and typical project sizes in plain words.
2. List every accreditation in text on one page, with registration numbers and the scope each covers, including where MCS applies.
3. Rebuild your three strongest case studies with forecast and measured results side by side.
4. Publish a dated page on the rule your buyers ask about most, whether ESOS phase 4, energy standards or chargepoint grants.
5. If you broker energy, publish how you are paid and which redress scheme you belong to.

#Frequently asked questions

#Which commercial solar installers in the Midlands have done 500kW rooftop systems?

An assistant can only answer with firms that publish projects of that size in that region. A project list giving site type, location, system size and year is what lets it name you. Systems that large fall outside MCS's solar standard, so buyers look instead at your electrical accreditation, insurance and comparable projects.

#Is the Workplace Charging Scheme still open in 2026?

Yes, for now. GOV.UK says it has been extended for a final year until 31 March 2027, with grants of up to £500 per socket from 1 April 2026, and the installer must be OZEV-authorised. Put the date you last checked on any page that mentions it.

#Should an energy services firm publish its prices?

Yes, as ranges with dates. Buyers ask assistants what commercial solar, heat pumps or EV charging cost, and an assistant can only quote figures it can find. Give typical ranges for the project sizes you do most, explain what moves the price and date the page. Say when a project does not make sense, too: that reads as expertise.

#How do we publish savings without overpromising?

Separate forecasts from measured results and state the period. If a project underperformed, say why. Avoid "save up to" figures that cannot be traced to a project.

#How long before assistants start naming us?

Assistants that search the web live, such as ChatGPT search, Copilot and Google's AI features, can reflect a rewritten page or a fixed listing within weeks. Answers drawn from a model's memory change only when it is retrained, which takes months. Being named reliably for broad questions takes several months of steady publishing, reviews and outside coverage.

If you want a view on what to fix first, book a free Growth Review. We will tell you plainly where you stand and what we would do next.

#Sources